Thursday, March 13, 2014

Smelling the Coffee

One of my favourite smells is coffee.  Whether walking by a café, sitting in a restaurant or even at my desk while the machine hisses gently in the kitchen, the aroma catches my breath every time.  Despite loving the smell of it, I don't drink a huge amount of coffee and have just one cup of really good coffee in the morning in work.  My love of good coffee doesn't mean that I'm not a fan of convenience and I love coffee capsules as they're no mess, no fuss and give great results every time and they work perfectly in the Nespresso* machines both at home & in work. As soon as I opened the Carte Noire box in work, I was practically mugged (coffee, mug - geddit?) to share the coffee with my colleagues.  The reaction was overwhelmingly positive and my own favourite is No. 7 Aromatique.





One of my favourite ways to drink coffee in the evening is as part of a dessert, especially combining it with a shot of liqueur and some really good ice cream to create Affogato.  It's Italian for drowned and it's a really decadent combination of hot, cold, sweet and boozy all in the one bowl.  The trick to making Affogato is to warm your espresso cup before pouring the coffee into it (fill it with boiling water and let it sit for 5 minutes).  While you're doing this, take the ice cream out of the freezer to allow it to soften and find your preferred liqueur.  To keep the Italian theme going, I'm very fond of Frangelico which is a hazelnut liqueur in a very funky bottle.

Once you're ready to assemble the Affogato, it should only take 30 seconds and don't dilly dally, you don't want the icecream to melt before it reaches the table.  I'm a purist and love Vanilla but choose whatever makes you happy.

Affogato

1 shot of Espresso
1 large scoop of icecream
1 shot of Liqueur

Make the espresso and add the liqueur to the cup.
Place the icecream into a small bowl.
Pour the espresso & liqueur over the ice cream
Eat immediately.

See, I told you it was simple...

This post is an entry in the Foodies100 Espresso Collective Challenge, sponsored by Carte Noire. Each box of Carte Noire Espresso capsules contain 10 single servings and are available in supermarkets at an RRP of £2.79 and are available in four intensities. To find out more about the new Carte Noire Collection Espresso click here

*Nespresso® is a registered trademark of a third party without any link with Mondelez International group. Compatible with all Nespresso®* machines bought before July 1, 2013. After that date, compatible with most Nespresso®* machines bought. For additional information regarding compatibility, please see UK: www.CARTENOIRE.co.uk/compatibility

6 comments:

  1. Can you get these in Irish supermarkets?

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  2. Just checked with Carte Noire - not at the moment but you can get them on Amazon

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  3. Couldn't agree more. There's nothing quite like enjoying a cup in the evening as part of dessert.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Nice post, i hope everyone will like your post..

    ReplyDelete